Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard)- The Reviews Are In
By Reid Jones
October 31st 2007 - 10:42 AM EST
On October 26th 2007, Apple released Mac OS X 10.5, their highly anticipated operating system known to many as Leopard. Leopard features over 300 new improvements/additions onto Mac OS 10.4. One of the most anticipated being the Time Machine, Apples own backup system that lets users easily go back in time in their computers hard drive and find files they may have deleted/changed and restore them. Many reviews have been released so far, and will help people decide on whether to buy it or not. Here is a compilation of the major reviews:
Ars Technica:
Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard: the Ars Technica review
By John Siracusa
"As I've learned more about Leopard, it's become increasingly clear where, exactly, those two-and-a-half years of development time went. Leopard is absolutely packed with improvements. It seems that not a corner of the OS has gone untouched.
Perhaps that's not as clear to the casual user who just sees the surface changes and the major new features in Leopard. But even in that case, there's more than enough to recommend it. if you're wondering whether you should upgrade to Leopard, the answer, as it's been for every major revision of Mac OS X, is yes."
Ars Technica
Full Review
Macworld:
Review: Mac OS X Leopard
By Jason Snell
"So are 300-plus new features worth $129? That answer will vary, because no single user will ever take advantage of all — or maybe even half — of those 300 features. But given the impressive value of Time Machine and improvements to existing programs such as iCal, iChat, Mail, and the Finder, most active Mac users will find more than enough reasons to consider that upgrade cost money well spent. Despite a few interface missteps, particularly when it comes the menu bar and the Dock, Leopard is an upgrade that roars."
Macworld
Full Review
New York Times:
Apple Offers New Goodies in Leopard System
By David Pogue
"Leopard is powerful, polished and carefully conceived. Happy surprises, and very few disappointments, lie around every corner. This Leopard has more than 300 new spots — and most of them are bright ones."
"The most serious misstep in Leopard is its new see-through menus. When the menu commands — Save As, Page Preview, whatever — are superimposed on the text of whatever document is behind them, they’re much harder to read. Often, Apple’s snazzy graphics are justifiable because they make the Mac more fun to use. In this case, though, nothing is gained, and much is lost."
New York Times
Full Review
As visible above, Mac OS X Leopard has been given much praise from reviewers, leading to even more anticipation for Mac OS X 10.6.
